SPORTS DIGEST | YSU tennis team hosting fundraiser

YSU tennis team hosting fundraiser

BOARDMAN

The Youngstown State tennis team is having a fundraising event on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 4-6 p.m. at the Boardman Tennis Center.

Sign ups are for one or two hours and you can practice, play, or receive instruction from the team.

Private sessions with a YSU player are $30/hour and a semi-private event, which includes two YSU players and two participants per court is $15/hour per person.

Beginners are welcome to attend.

Contact head coach Mickael Sopel at (347)-577-2052 or msopel@ysu.edu to reserve a spot.

OHSAA football state fianls coming to Canton

COLUMBUS

The Ohio High School Athletic Association football state championship games will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton in 2017 and 2018.

The OHSAA staff had previously confirmed its intent to return to Canton in 2017 and 2018 and the 9-0 vote by the board of directors Thursday makes the move official.

After a 24-year stay in Stark County from 1990-2013, the football state championship games were held at Ohio Stadium in Columbus in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The 2017 OHSAA football state championships weekend is Thursday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 3. The exact dates and times of the games will be finalized this spring. All seven state championship games will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

No details for the football state championship games after 2018 have been finalized, but the OHSAA intends to return to Ohio Stadium in Columbus for the 2019 state championship games.

OHSAA approves pitch count for high school

COLUMBUS

Details for a nationally-mandated pitch count restriction in high school baseball were approved Thursday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors at its January meeting.

The new OHSAA pitch count regulation calls for a maximum of 125 pitches permitted in a day, and contains several other details such as the number of days required between pitching appearances based on the number of pitches thrown.

Last year, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) informed all states that they were required to have a pitch count limit instead of a regulation based on innings pitched over a certain number of days. Previously in Ohio high school baseball, a pitcher could pitch up to 10 innings in a three-day span. Each state was tasked with determining its own regulation.

Ivan Rodriguez denies steroid use in career

NEW YORK

A day after his election to the Hall of Fame, Ivan Rodriguez appeared to deny using steroids during his career.

The catcher spoke Wednesday at a news conference alongside fellow inductees Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines.

Rodriguez initially avoided a direct response when asked about speculation he had used steroids. Asked during a follow-up whether he would address what happened and whether he did or didn’t, he responded: “No, I didn’t.”

Pushed whether that meant he didn’t use or he wouldn’t respond, Rodriguez said: “I always played the game the right way.”

Carew shows no signs of transplant rejection

LOS ANGELES

Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew has passed the one-month mark since a heart and kidney transplant with no signs of rejection.

Carew tells the American Heart Association News he’s “doing great” since the 13-hour operation on Dec. 16. He’s spent the last week in a rehabilitation center and expects to return home soon.

Carew says he wants to remind people to get their hearts checked. His donor was a 29-year-old man.

The 71-year-old former Twins and Angels star had a heart attack in September 2015 and later had a device implanted in his heart.

Staff/Wire reports